Nick Gilroy will visit every state capital before returning to
his native England
GILROY
Itching with wanderlust and the desire for an epic journey, Nick Gilroy, 48, mounted his BMW in Fort Myers, Fla. back in February and hasn’t stopped riding since.
A native Briton, he will have seen more of this country than most Americans by the time he wraps up his travels in August in Juneau, Ala. About 20 years ago, he tallied up all the U.S. states he’d been to over a cool beer with a traveling partner. Surprisingly, he’d already been to about 20. After that, he decided to do all the states in one go and use state capitals as navigational points. So far, he’s been to 13 and will soon add Sacramento to the list. He couldn’t help himself from stopping by Gilroy, his namesake, as he was passing through for a quick picture of himself in front of the Welcome to Gilroy sign.
Armed with little more than a few changes of clothes, a GPS and a laptop, he has already motored through the country’s southern states and plans zigzagging his way back east now that he’s hit the Pacific, conquering the northern states when the weather warms up in the summer. Once he’s seen every New England capital, he’ll return to the west and then make his way up to Alaska.
He wrapped up 27 years as an officer in the British Royal Air Force and three years with the Civil Aviation Authority to take the year off and enjoy his three favorite hobbies: photography, writing and motorcycles.
“This trip is like consuming a good bottle of wine,” Gilroy said, his blue eyes sparkling in contrast to his deeply tanned face. “I don’t want to rush it.”
With the help of his gadgets, he maintains a Web site that details his travels with pictures and a running blog. Gilroy is roughing it in many ways but admitted that he stays his nights in hotels.
“People say ‘Adventure rider? You should be camping,’ ” Gilroy said. “Not me, I’m too old. I like a nice hot shower and a couple beers in the evening.”
So far, Gilroy has been to the southernmost tip of the U.S. in Key West, Fla., has traversed both the Appalachians and the Rockies, had a brush with the law and an “exceptionally polite” Louisiana State Trooper and has weathered tornadoes and fickle weather patterns. Santa Fe tops his list of favorite capitals but he still has 38 to go (he plans to fly to Honolulu after Juneau).
